People asking how long a book takes are usually really asking whether their own plan is realistic. The honest answer is that timelines vary enormously by book and by writer, but the maths behind a rough estimate is simple, and useful once you understand what it does and does not tell you.
This guide walks through that arithmetic, how it differs by type of book, and what happens after the first draft, which is often the part people forget to plan for.
Is "how long to write a book" about the draft or the finished book?
These are different questions with different answers. Drafting time is how long it takes to get a complete first version down. Finishing time includes revision, possibly beta readers, and editing, and is usually longer than the draft itself, sometimes considerably so.
Most of the confusion around book timelines comes from comparing a drafting estimate to someone else’s total time to publication, which are not the same measurement.
How do I estimate drafting time from word count?
Divide your target word count by your average words per writing day to get an estimate of writing days, not calendar days.
Example
For example, an 80,000-word manuscript at 500 words per writing day works out to 80,000 ÷ 500 = 160 writing days before revision. If you write five days a week, that is roughly 32 weeks, or a little over seven months, of drafting, assuming the pace holds and no weeks are skipped.
| Target length | 300 words/day | 500 words/day | 1,000 words/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30,000 words (novella / short non-fiction) | 100 days | 60 days | 30 days |
| 50,000 words | 167 days | 100 days | 50 days |
| 80,000 words | 267 days | 160 days | 80 days |
| 100,000 words | 334 days | 200 days | 100 days |
How does drafting time differ for fiction?
Fiction drafting time is mostly a function of length and pace, but plotters who outline in detail before drafting often draft faster once they start, because fewer decisions are made mid-scene. Discovery writers may draft more slowly but do more of their structural thinking during the draft itself, so the total time can end up similar.
How does drafting time differ for memoir?
Memoir drafting can be slowed by the emotional weight of the material, by time spent checking facts, dates and details against memory or records, and by decisions about how to handle real people. It is worth building in slower weeks as a realistic possibility, not an exception. See how do I write a memoir for how scope and theme affect this.
How does drafting time differ for non-fiction?
Non-fiction word counts translate less directly into time, because outlining the argument and structuring chapters often takes longer relative to the drafting itself. A clear chapter-by-chapter plan before drafting tends to make the word-count maths more reliable for non-fiction than for fiction.
How does drafting time differ for children’s books?
Word count is a poor guide to time for children’s books, because a 500-word picture book text can go through as many drafts, over as much time, as a much longer manuscript, since every word carries more weight. See how do I write a children’s book for how age range affects this.
What about research-heavy books?
Research time is often the part left out of drafting estimates entirely. If a book needs interviews, archival material, technical accuracy checks or specialist reading, build that in as a separate phase, or expect drafting to be interrupted by it, rather than assuming research happens invisibly alongside the words.
How long does revision take after the first draft?
Self-revision commonly takes weeks rather than days for a full-length manuscript, and often more than one pass. As a rough illustrative example only, a writer revising an 80,000-word manuscript at a careful pace of 5,000 words a week would need around sixteen weeks for one thorough pass; a second pass, or feedback from beta readers built into the schedule, adds further time.
How does professional editing affect the timeline?
Developmental editing, copy editing and proofreading each take calendar time beyond the writer’s own schedule, and are usually sequential rather than simultaneous, because changes from developmental feedback affect what copy editing later works on. Our editing page and how publishing works set out how these stages fit together after the manuscript is finished.
How should I plan realistically?
- 1
Estimate drafting time from your real average, not your best day
Base the word-count maths on a pace you can sustain most weeks, not your fastest session.
- 2
Add a buffer for missed weeks
Illness, work and life happen; a schedule with no slack breaks at the first disruption.
- 3
Plan revision and editing as separate phases
Do not treat "finish the draft" as "finish the book".
- 4
Revisit the plan periodically
A schedule set once and never checked tends to drift without anyone noticing.
Is speed the most important measure?
No. A book written slowly but consistently over a year is not a worse achievement than one drafted in ten weeks; the manuscript does not know how long it took. Consistency and finishing matter more than pace, and a realistic timeline that you actually complete beats an ambitious one that stalls.
Common mistakes
- Comparing your drafting estimate to someone else’s total time to publication. These measure different things and are not comparable without knowing what each figure includes.
- Treating writing days as calendar days. A plan built on five perfect writing days a week rarely survives contact with an ordinary life.
- Leaving out research time. For research-heavy books, this can be a large, uncounted part of the real timeline.
- Forgetting revision and editing entirely. A finished draft is often less than half the total time to a publication-ready manuscript.
Frequently asked questions
Is six months realistic for a first novel?
It can be, for a shorter novel at a steady daily pace, but it depends heavily on your available time, the complexity of the plot and how much revision follows. Use the word-count maths above to check your own numbers rather than relying on someone else’s six months.
Why did my second book take longer than my first?
This is common. Later books are sometimes more ambitious, more heavily researched, or written with less protected time than a first attempt, and none of that reflects a decline in ability.
Should I set a deadline for my first draft?
A loose target can help momentum, but treat it as a planning tool, not a promise. See [how many words should I write each day](/resources/start-writing/how-many-words-should-i-write-each-day) for working backwards from a date.
Does a longer book always take proportionally longer?
Roughly, for drafting, since it is largely arithmetic. For revision and editing, longer manuscripts often take more than proportionally longer, because there is more material to check for consistency.